


Drowning

by shadowtraveled (meteorfest)



Series: Shadows on the Water [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-17 23:38:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meteorfest/pseuds/shadowtraveled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“By the time you realize the waves are crashing all around you, you've already lost sight of shore.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drowning

Nico had once told Hazel that his relationship with Percy was like drowning. It had seemed like a strange, morbid way to describe a relationship and it had caused the daughter of Pluto no small amount of concern for her brother if he felt his love for Percy was like drowning. She’d asked him why he would make such a comparison.

“Because that’s how it is,” Nico told her. His dark eyes looked over the camp from the spot where he and Hazel were perched on the roof of the temple of Pluto. He didn't look at her, just stared into the distance, as if recreating a sensation for himself as he sat there. “He’s like the sea his father commands. You can be drawn to him, caught in the waves, and suddenly you’re in an undercurrent because you've gone too far.”

Nico had known exactly when he’d gone too far, when he’d been caught in that undercurrent and realized that he’d fallen in love with Percy Jackson; when Percy had told him that he hoped they didn't have to be enemies, after Nico had explained that he had to leave Camp Half-Blood. Nico had been careful not to let it show that he had wanted to stay, because Percy had wanted him there. He’d made his decision, but the currents were pulling him closer and closer to Percy.

“By the time you realize the waves are crashing all around you, you've already lost sight of shore,” Nico continued. “The water’s throwing you around and pulling you under.”

Nico knew exactly when he’d been pulled under. The moment he’d come up with the plan to make Percy invincible, he knew it was because he was scared of his love for the older demigod. He’d known how powerful it was, could feel it crushing him, because he was in love with someone he couldn't have, someone he could very well lose if the war didn't go well for their side. So he’d spent the next year trying to convince Percy to swim in the Styx.

“And then you finally let yourself sink,” Nico went on. “You stop fighting the water and let it claim you.”

It had taken Nico far too long to stop fighting. He’d told himself for nearly two years that he had to stop loving Percy Jackson. He had to let him go. He’d fought his love for Percy tooth and nail, constantly struggling with his feelings. Through war with Kronos and war with Gaea, he’d fought his feelings when he wasn't fighting monsters and it was only when Percy finally stumbled out of Tartarus that Nico couldn't fight anymore.

Everyone had been shocked when Nico threw himself at Percy, wrapping his arms around the son of Poseidon and kissing him hard in relief. Almost everyone, actually. Percy had easily caught Nico and had kissed him back with equal force and relief. Tartarus had revealed Percy’s greatest fears, they later found out, and one of them had been losing Nico without ever finding out how the son of Hades felt about him. So when Nico finally gave him his answer, Percy had been ready.

Annabeth had never fully forgiven either of them, though she was civil enough. She’d had Percy’s love while it lasted and, while she’d never be able to let go of her own love for him, she moved on after a while. They were still friends, though things weren't quite the same.

Nico did feel guilty about taking Percy from her, but she wouldn't hear his apologies anymore.

“The thing is,” Nico said, finally turning to Hazel. “Even though it feels like I’m drowning sometimes, Percy’s always going to pull me back up.”

Hazel gave a nod of understanding. “Percy’s reliable in that way,” she told her brother. She knew Percy would never let her brother drown, figuratively or not. “I still think it’s a bit morbid.”

“I get it from Dad.”

The two of them shared a smile at that and, after a few moments of silence, Nico stood up and offered Hazel his hand. “Let’s go. Everyone’s probably waiting on us.”


End file.
